


Just What I Needed

by JGoose13



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Comforting!Tim, F/M, Fever Dream, Sick!Lucy, first fic for the fandom, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29852481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JGoose13/pseuds/JGoose13
Summary: Lucy wakes up sick. Jackson, Best Friend Extraordinaire, says he'll bring her something home to help her feel better. It's a damn blessing that thing is her boyfriend.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 8
Kudos: 116





	Just What I Needed

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This is my first fic for The Rookie fandom, and my first Chenford fic. Apologies for the roughness of it. I'm slowly getting a feel for the characters.

Lucy woke up, sheets soaked in her sweat, eyes crusted with sleep. Despite evidence to the contrary, she was absolutely freezing, burrowed deep into the plush pillow top of her mattress. Her whole body ached, her awareness completely veiled in fog.

She was not well. 

Banging. Where was the banging coming from?

“Lucy? Lucy, are you okay in there? If we don’t roll out in five, Sarge is going to chew our ass out for being late.” 

Jackson West, best friend and roommate. 

It should not have taken as long as it had for her to process that information. 

More banging. More of her name, the tinge of concern in his voice growing thicker by the second. Lucy vaguely sees the door open, but her head was buried deep under the puffy duvet cover. 

“Jackson,” she croaked, unable to recognize herself. 

“Whoa, Jesus, Luce,” Jackson stopped dead, having just taken a step into her room.

“I… I…” Lucy tried again.

“Say no more. I’ll call Wade right now on my way out. Uh… okay, two seconds.” 

Jackson disappeared. She could hear the far off sound of him puttering around in her bathroom, and then moving on into the kitchen. Soon, he returned, best damn friend anyone could ask for. 

“We don’t have much right now, but I’ll pick up some supplies on my way home. I’ve got some Tylenol for fever, tissues, cough drops… just rest, okay? Call me if you need me to come back and bring you to an Urgent Care.” 

“I’ll be fine,” Lucy said, finally able to form a coherent sentence. Once she realized she could actually use her arms, she tried to extricate herself from the cocoon of covers she’d rolled herself in. 

“Oh no, no you don’t,” Jackson held out his hands, but did not take a step closer. Lucy didn’t blame him. She wouldn’t want to catch what she had either. Which she suspected was the flu. 

Figured. She was scheduled to get a flu shot next week. 

“I’ll b-be fine, Jackson,” Lucy tried again, the fatigue in her muscles preventing her from going anywhere. “Okay, maybe not fine…” 

“Damn right. Just… just lay back down, get some rest.” 

Whatever Jackson said after that flitted away. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off. 

At least the fever conjured up the most pleasant of dreams. 

Sunlight filtered in through the gauzy curtains and venetian blinds, illuminating the room in a warm glow. The softest of touches traced along her shoulder and down her arm, creating invisible works of art, up and down, causing a shiver to race up her spine. 

“Morning, beautiful,” a deep, sleep soft voice greeted her. Lucy smiled, the warmth of the sun and the man burrowing deep beneath her skin, blanketing her in a sense of comfort and ease. 

“Morning,” Dream Lucy replied, turning slightly, stretching her arms above her head and her legs, all the way down to her toes.

“I was worried,” that same husky voice whispered against the nape of her neck, causing her body to heat further. “Had me concerned when you weren’t already awake.” 

Dream Lucy grinned wider. “Well,  _ someone _ wore me out last night.” 

His answering chuckle sent her heart clenching at the pure deliciousness of the sound. 

“As I recall, you were the one begging for more,” he teased. 

“How dare!” Lucy laughed, the fingers that had been swirling across her bicep shot down to her side, sliding across her ribs. She cackled, jerking away from him, trying to escape his merciless fingers. 

“How dare I what?” He crooned as he continued his assault, holding her hostage against his body as he tickled her in the place he knew riled her the most. 

“You asshole!” 

“Lucy,” he laughed. 

“Lucy.”

_ Lucy _ . 

_ Chen _ .

“Luce, babe…”

Consciousness came roaring back, rushing over her like a wave, crashing against the sides of her skull, clearing the cotton just a little. 

Her eyes fluttered open, and instead of welcoming sunlight, darkness had fallen. The faint lights of brightly lit L.A. poured through the window. Both bedside lamps were on, casting long shadows across the carpet.

Blinking, she tried to shake the disorientation. 

Lucy didn’t feel as fevered as she had earlier that morning, and her body only slightly ached. The rest must have helped, but she did not feel she was out of the woods just yet. 

“Baby… you okay?” 

That deep, smooth voice from her dream. How had it manifested in the waking world?

Lucy rolled onto her back, startling at the dark figure perched on the side of her bed.

Before her brain could catch up to what her eyes were seeing, Lucy was reaching under the pillow beside her for her off duty weapon. 

Just as her hand slipped beneath the softness of the pillow, the face of the figure dipped forward into the light of the bedside lamp. 

“It’s just me, sweetheart. It’s Tim.”

Lucy pressed her palm to her heated forehead, sucking in a deep, steadying breath.

“Tim,” she breathed, voice cracking. 

“Hey,” he smiled softly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face. Lucy wished he wouldn’t do that. It had to be a rat’s nest. But she would be lying if she didn’t feel about 50% better just at the sight of him. 

“Hi.” 

Now that she was lucid, Tim shoved the blankets aside and wedged himself against her, gathering her in his arms. Lucy thought she might sob, collapsing against him like a weight had been lifted. 

“I cannot smell or look good,” she mumbled against his chest. She could smell the spicy body wash he used when he showered after shift. He wore a black Henley and dark wash jeans. His warmth was a balm, his mere presence a dose of the best kind of medicine. 

“You’re as beautiful as always,” Tim dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “When you’re ready, we’re going to get you out of this bed so I can change the sheets. You’re going to take a warm bath, and try and eat a little something. I brought Theraflu, and if that doesn’t do anything for you by tomorrow afternoon, you’re going to the doctor.” 

Lucy’s lips parted in protest, but damn if Tim didn’t know her. 

“I’ll slap cuffs on you and drag you in myself, Chen.” 

She huffed. 

“I made you some soup.” 

“Chicken noodle?” She asked, hopeful. 

Tim scoffed. "What am I, a barbarian? Of course it's Chicken Noodle." 

Lucy laughed softly. Thank God the man could cook, because she definitely could not.

“You’re gonna get sick,” Lucy observed, realization hitting. She’d been so desperate for him, for the comfort he offered, that she hadn’t thought about his own well being. 

“Don’t care,” Tim said in the usual Tim Bradford flippant way.

“Thank you for checking on me,” Lucy snuggled closer. “Jackson did say he’d pick up something for me on the way home.” 

Tim chuckled. “Were you expecting something else?” 

“Nope,” she smiled, lulled by the soft, rhythmic beating of his heart beneath her ear. “This is exactly what I needed.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter @JGoose753 or Tumblr @JGoose13.


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